Page 46 - Issue_64

ADAM CIANCIARULO
250 SX / 7TH
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / ROEWER DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> Adam Cianciarulo has been having a good season but keeps falling short when it comes to getting on to the top step of the podium. With a couple third place finishes
this year, the Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider has been putting in the work week in and week out to get back to the top. Going into round five of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Cianciarulo was the fourth quickest 250 rider of the day. Looking smooth on the soft Oakland track, he was lined up and ready to go for the second gate drop of the night. Flying out of the gate for the second heat race of the night, the young Kawasaki rider got a good start sitting around the top five through the first turn. Quickly making moves he moved himself into second place by the end of the first lap. With his eyes set on the prize Adam Cianciarulo kept the points leader, Aaron Plessinger, in his sight throughout the entire heat race not letting him pull away. Keeping the gap close, Cianciarulo finished off his heat race with a second place finish moving onto the main event. Sitting on the line ready for action the Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider was fired up and ready to go for Oakland’s main event. The second the gate drop he put the power to the ground hauling into the first turn, but fell victim the mayhem and was pushed to the inside of the tough blocks leaving him buried within the pack. With a lot
of riders ahead of him, he needed to put it all together to work his way back to the front. Before the first lap was even over, bad luck struck once again leaving Cianciarulo on the ground in a pile up. He quickly got up, but lost even more positions running back around nineteenth place. With almost the entire field of riders in front of him, the Kawasaki rider had nowhere left to go, but forward. Close to the halfway point he had made his way
up to an impressive eleventh place and was setting one of the fastest lap times on the track. Each lap he slowly plucked away at riders working his way into the top ten. With just a few minutes left of the race he was 24 seconds off of the lead and set the second fastest lap on the track, but was still back in tenth place. As the race wound down to its final laps, Adam Cianciarulo was able to snag a couple more positions working his way all the way up to seventh place. Considering he was back in nineteenth on the first lap and seventh place finish was very impressive. Sitting in fourth place for the 250SX West Championship, isn’t a bad position to be in heading into round six of the season.
46 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 4, 2018